Unpopular opinions

Probably for the best to just not code Floette Eternal then, since I find that a waste of data space of something we can’t even obtain at all, including Light of Ruin.

Now that you said it though, the only way we could plausibly obtain Eternal Floette is from another dimension where AZ ended up being killed - or permanently missing, out of that world - and it is unable to find their master since then. Even then, it might cause unfortunate implications if not done carefully, but at least the original Kalos’ own lore remained intact.
Maybe make Eternal Flower Floette something like Kenya the Spearow: a Pokémon you are supposed to give to another person.
That's a good compromise between story and gameplay if you ask me.
 
I said it before and I will say it again: plot must bend to gameplay, always. This is a game. If you want plot to be the focus read a book or watch a movie.
I think it's important to find a middle ground. It's like design vs function. Part of any art is to find balance between the elements of your piece

My favorite game, Undertale, is a masterpiece of combining gameplay and plot. If the plot just bent to the gameplay or if the gameplay just bent to the plot, it wouldn't be half as good. But by having a perfect middle ground, it's most defining features are created
 
I think it's important to find a middle ground. It's like design vs function. Part of any art is to find balance between the elements of your piece

My favorite game, Undertale, is a masterpiece of combining gameplay and plot. If the plot just bent to the gameplay or if the gameplay just bent to the plot, it wouldn't be half as good. But by having a perfect middle ground, it's most defining features are created

I mean, initially, video games didn't had a plot. What mattered was the gameplay. It's only when games like RPGs started to arrive that developers started to develop scenarios in their games.
I personally give little importance to the plot because, since a game can exist without (just look at arcade games or racing games), I consider it as a "little extra" that should be highlighted if it's good but shouldn't matter that much, or at least, less than the gameplay. Of course, people are more regarding toward the plot with RPGs due to their narrative nature but, I have to agree with ZettaiRyouiki, it must bend the gameplay.
 
I mean, initially, video games didn't had a plot. What mattered was the gameplay. It's only when games like RPGs started to arrive that developers started to develop scenarios in their games.
I personally give little importance to the plot because, since a game can exist without (just look at arcade games or racing games), I consider it as a "little extra" that should be highlighted if it's good but shouldn't matter that much, or at least, less than the gameplay. Of course, people are more regarding toward the plot with RPGs due to their narrative nature but, I have to agree with ZettaiRyouiki, it must bend the gameplay.
I think it depends entirely on the game

Even in games with minimal plot, it has to match the gameplay and vice versa

Punch-Out's plot is that you play a young, short guy who wants to be the boxing champion. That's it. As simple as it gets. The gameplay is based on defeating much stronger opponents than you, their power is a crucial element of the game's design. And also that of the plot, as after all, you play the underdog

If Punch-Out was Doom but in a boxing ring, where you beat the shit out of much weaker opponents, but it still has the underdog narrative, that leads to a dissonance that might be tiny when the game's still fun, but still exists and is notable
 
I think it's important to find a middle ground. It's like design vs function. Part of any art is to find balance between the elements of your piece

My favorite game, Undertale, is a masterpiece of combining gameplay and plot. If the plot just bent to the gameplay or if the gameplay just bent to the plot, it wouldn't be half as good. But by having a perfect middle ground, it's most defining features are created
Are we thinking of the same game? Because my thoughts on Undertale is that the story gets in the way of having good gameplay to such a degree that I've been turned off by anything else the developer produces (as if I needed more reason to be hesitant about current mainline pokemon games). I only recently posted in the general videogame thread about a game with barely any plot doing a much more reasonable job of having endings tied to playstyles than more serious games, and Undertale was at the forefront of my mind while writing that.

Balance requires knowing where the fulcrum is. You cannot assume it is in the center.
 
Are we thinking of the same game? Because my thoughts on Undertale is that the story gets in the way of having good gameplay to such a degree that I've been turned off by anything else the developer produces (as if I needed more reason to be hesitant about current mainline pokemon games). I only recently posted in the general videogame thread about a game with barely any plot doing a much more reasonable job of having endings tied to playstyles than more serious games, and Undertale was at the forefront of my mind while writing that.
That's a pretty rare opinion tbh. The idea of having storytelling during fights and throughout the gameplay is a huge plus for Undertale for most people. Like the whole puzzles in Snowdin showing Papyrus's character, Flowey breaking the rules of the game, attack strength and patterns often depending on your own actions... I can't think of a single game that managed to incorporate it's message and mechanics as good into both gameplay and story whilst having these influence one another as Undertale did

Balance requires knowing where the fulcrum is. You cannot assume it is in the center.
I agree on that, which is actually also one of the reasons why I love undsrtale
 
I think the AZ Floette thing is being over thought honestly. The lore discussion and its significance to the character they created are all valid things to be fascinated by, but I think Pokemon has long made clear that the majority of Legendary Pokemon encounters aren't captures in terms of their story unless explicitly forced on the player (Delta Rayquaza, BW Dragon, Xerneas/Yveltal, Nebby, and Eternatus standing out). Most other encounters are more just about meeting the Pokemon or pacifying it when it's enraged from something the antagonists have done.

This comes to mind in particular for Mythicals, which they've very conspicuously moved from encounter events to simple distributions for in the time since Generation 5 (where most of them had in-game sequences once obtained). Mythicals have had a much more distinct sense of being something where you owning them is just a gameplay concession not to be taken too seriously in the story (otherwise we get into other bizarre questions like Hoopa and the Portal Rings for ORAS Legendary encounters).

I doubt AZ's Floette existing in the code for a potential event was supposed to suggest the plot-event of the Pokemon joining with you instead of AZ, doubly so because its nickname is "Eternal" Floette most times it comes up. I'd sooner expect TPC to handwave it as another occurrence of the same Phenomena from 3000 Years ago (since Lysandre tries firing the same weapon again at present) or some rare mutation akin to Diance-to-Carbink (just Floette isn't a distinct species this time).
 
I doubt AZ's Floette existing in the code for a potential event was supposed to suggest the plot-event of the Pokemon joining with you instead of AZ, doubly so because its nickname is "Eternal" Floette most times it comes up. I'd sooner expect TPC to handwave it as another occurrence of the same Phenomena from 3000 Years ago (since Lysandre tries firing the same weapon again at present) or some rare mutation akin to Diance-to-Carbink (just Floette isn't a distinct species this time).

Honestly I wouldn't even expect TPC to bother with a handwave. It's not even that complex.

The fact that I can have five Rayquaza all caught at Sky Pillar by different trainers on one save file is just gameplay and story segregation imo. The same goes for, say, the shiny Eternatus that's currently being distributed to SwSh - never mind that in-game lore says that there's only one, the event one is deliberately non-canon and purely for player expansion.

Having Lance's Dragonite from that event a few years ago doesn't mean that you actually have Lance's Dragonite. It's just a representation of that Pokemon, not the canon individual.

That said, I do think that if AZ's Floette had been given to the player as part of the story of a potential Z version, it would have been either because AZ was finally dying or because he thought that it was better off with the player. I'm sure there would have been a justification if it had been a plot-relevant gift. But as an event, no.
 
I said it before and I will say it again: plot must bend to gameplay, always. This is a game. If you want plot to be the focus read a book or watch a movie.

It entirely depends on the game. FF9 is one of my favorite games, but not because of the gameplay. It's filled with so many random encounters and battles take forever that it makes Diamond and Pearl look fast by comparison. However, it has excellent characters, interesting cities to explore and an amazing story, which make up for the gameplay shortcomings IMO.
 
Last edited:
Unpopular Opinion: Sharing Type change suggestions or opinions without elaboration is more likely to stifle talk than promote it in this thread.
What kind of elaboration do u want?

Levitate gives it immunity to it's 4x weakness to ground. 8 resistances. Design wise it looks an electric/poison type.
 
Last edited:
What kind of elaboration do u want?

Levitate gives it immunity to it's 4x weakness to ground. 8 resistances. Design wise it looks an electric/poison type.
What aspects of its design particularly incline its appearance to adding that type, be it in Lore/Dex, Movepool, or Appearance.

For instance: Eelektross's name alludes to Eels, its line specifically alluding to Electric Eels by typing and the natural access to Discharge in particular over any STAB option. Eelektross's movepool is extremely varied, with the inclusion of a few natural Poison moves (though I exclude Coil since it's more about a body shape than any use of Poison). If anything, the Dex entries make me curious why this Eel Pokemon is pure Electric, rather than also bearing a Water typing and some moves.

The Pokedex said:
They crawl out of the ocean using their arms. They will attack prey on shore and immediately drag it into the ocean.

It latches on to prey with its sucker mouth, sinking in its fangs and shocking the prey with powerful electricity.

The Dex clearly alludes to it living in the Ocean and dragging prey there to consume it. Yet despite this it doesn't learn any Water moves beyond Rain Dance. The lack of Thunder Fang (among any biting themed moves past Crunch) is also noticeable in light of this.
 
Sandshrew/sandslash shouldn't have gotten a alolan form. Instead they should have gotten a cross gen evolution where it would have turned into a ground/ice type.

Ice/Steel is such a horrible typing.

Something like a name Sandolian with BST of 500 with ability Slush rush and Sand rush.

HP : 75
Attack : 120
Defense : 90
Sp. Att : 50
Sp. Def : 75
Speed : 90

Sandslash moved from deserts to mountains and to survive it evolved into a part ice type Sandolian.
 
Last edited:
What aspects of its design particularly incline its appearance to adding that type, be it in Lore/Dex, Movepool, or Appearance.

For instance: Eelektross's name alludes to Eels, its line specifically alluding to Electric Eels by typing and the natural access to Discharge in particular over any STAB option. Eelektross's movepool is extremely varied, with the inclusion of a few natural Poison moves (though I exclude Coil since it's more about a body shape than any use of Poison). If anything, the Dex entries make me curious why this Eel Pokemon is pure Electric, rather than also bearing a Water typing and some moves.

Because Eels are poisonous.
 
And there are too many mono electric already.
A Pokemon being mono-<x type> is only a bad thing if it's boring and too similar to the other Pokemon with the same monotype. Eelektross has a fairly unique movepool and playstyle compared to most other mono-Electric Pokemon.

Sandshrew/sandslash shouldn't have gotten a alolan form. Instead they should have gotten a cross gen evolution where it would have turned into a ground/ice type.

Ice/Steel is such a horrible typing.
Fun fact, Pokemon don't exist purely for competitive reasons. The thematic background for Alolan Sandslash being Ice/Steel is the fact that metal spikes are used to climb icy mountains, there's no good argument for it to be Ground. And it's effectively RU with Slush Rush, which is above average.
 
A Pokemon being mono-<x type> is only a bad thing if it's boring and too similar to the other Pokemon with the same monotype. Eelektross has a fairly unique movepool and playstyle compared to most other mono-Electric Pokemon.

It still sucks. Both concept and competitive wise.

Fun fact, Pokemon don't exist purely for competitive reasons. The thematic background for Alolan Sandslash being Ice/Steel is the fact that metal spikes are used to climb icy mountains, there's no good argument for it to be Ground. And it's effectively RU with Slush Rush, which is above average.

Yeah but Sandshrew line deserves to be good competitive wise. They are such cool pokemon but they such so much competetivelly meanwhile an ugly mon like Lando-T is dominating the entire competitive scene
 
Back
Top